[ Psalm 12:6 ]

Category Archives: the word of the lord

“Now therefore why should we die? for this great fire will consume us: if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou [Moses] near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it, and do it.”
Deuteronomy 5:25-27

Thus was the stubborn posture of the hearts of the children of Israel toward the Word of God when it came to them in power and great glory.

The hearts of wicked men are ever blind to the mercy that has already been shown to them unmerrited; therefore grace is a stranger to them, and they to it. Despite all the clear proof that God has not already struck them down in wrath, the ungrateful question of the accuser is always stirring within their souls, “Has God indeed said?” And by their love of that lawless question, however secret it may be, all of their ways are made crooked, and they always miss God. For notice that outwardly they still claim that they will perform the commandment of God; but only, they say, if another should “Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our God shall say: and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall speak unto thee.”

Now, although it pleased God in His soveriegn plan that for our learning Moses should stand as a kind of mediator for the children of Israel, prefiguring for us the unfathomable abasement of His Word in a Man on our behalf; yet His jealousy remained provoked in that ancient day toward those who so rejected His Word as it had appeared to them. For God will not be mocked; and His way will stand, though men so inventively seek any other door than what He graciously provides them. Therefore He was angry with that generation, and lamented their hardness of heart.

And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me [Moses]; and the Lord said unto me, “I have heard the voice of the words of this people, which they have spoken unto thee: they have well said all that they have spoken. O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear Me, and keep all My commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”
Deuteronomy 5:28-29

“…they have well said all that they have spoken.”
The Lord who searches the thoughts and intentions is not taken aback by the self-deceit which pervades the hardened heart of merely religious men. Their most pious response is still dependant upon another man knowing God for them; and this He sees as no different, if not even more despicable, than those who shake their fists at Him unabashedly.

“O that there were such an heart in them…”
The hearts which tend by God’s grace towards true obedience are marked by a desire to know God’s voice for themselves. But those which tend away from desiring a personal knowing of God’s voice; who tend to desire the voice of other men; and perhaps even mock that God would so speak to them, except through a man, reveal that they are full of disobedience already.

“…that they would fear Me…”
The wisdom of God is obtained through the fear of Him: those who fear Him seek His counsel diligently for themselves, and leave it not in the hands of any other.

“…and keep all My commandments always…”
The scriptures loudly attest to us that true obedience is that which is born of a heart that has been made humble and contrite before the living God. When God appears to such persons, they bow in faith saying, “Thy will be done, and first in me!” – and they go forth, though they may not see how it is possible. For they trust that He who gives the commandment will grant within them its Breath unto Life. But the passing of one’s own responsibility onto another is the way of the dead.

“…that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!”
We damn not only ourselves, but in a way our children also, when we willingly give place to any other Mediator than Christ Jesus. Let us not render ourselves as another lesson of failure for a generation yet future; and if we do, may our own children quickly overcome our lawless and faithless spirit, however it might sting our wicked pride.

As Moses said to Israel earlier in the same discourse, recounting God’s marvelous deeds among them:

“Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord.” Also the Lord was angry with me [Moses] for your sakes, saying, “Thou also shalt not go in thither. But Joshua the son of Nun, which standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: encourage him: for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.”
Deuteronomy 1:35-38

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 1:13

Sound words have a form, an exemplary pattern, a typification by which their nature is determined; and it is neither a literary nor auditory matter. Truly, their form is the state of the man from whence they proceed, even as a good mould brings forth a shapely moulding. Therefore the Lord said that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

The words of a good form are the fruit of the “faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” And this form is not seen in a mere tone of voice or manner of presentation, but in the condition of the soul who speaks. For the heart abounding in deceit may speak well outwardly; but inwardly be full of wicked schemes. Conversely, the heart abounding in goodness may speak poorly outwardly; but inwardly be being filled with the knowledge and love of the holy.

And the words of a man, no matter the carefulness or roughness of their delivery, are yet always laced with either the presumptuous stench of self-deceit, or with the earnest aroma of Christ; and by the Spirit of wisdom, these can be known to the hearer. To this end, the man of God, in order to hold fast the form of sound words, must make himself subject to the form of Christ’s sound Life.

For the form of sound words IS the Life of Christ in a man; and the holding fast to that form of sound words is what holds a man sound in God, and God’s word sound in him.

Then Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.”
John 6:68

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord;
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword;
His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling camps;
They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;
I can read His righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps,
His day is marching on.

I have read His fiery gospel writ in rows of burnished steel!
“As ye deal with my contemners, so with you My grace shall deal!
Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,”
Since God is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat;
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him; be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me;
As He died to make men holy, let us live to make men free!
While God is marching on.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)

I wondered why I felt the need to copy and save this conversation which I had on a public blog a few days ago – something I almost never do. It conveys quite well the spirit of the age, and its growing infection within the body of Christ.

As nations are awakening of late to the clutches of global power that have consolidated their respective seats of authority, the spirit of deception has seduced the more observant eyes within the church into a new consolidation of political and cultural entanglement. Whether or not these nations succeed in their seperation to any degree, we shall see; but the people of God have another city to be concerned with, and they are abandoning it to change the world rather than saving men out of it.

The entire thread in which I responded to this blogger was later deleted without notice or explanation – which is entirely his right to do; but I will post the exchange here as I find it quite illustrative of the deception by which we find ourselves surrounded. I post this neither for spite nor to feel as though I have won an argument, and not in the least for the sake of controversy (I have no ill will toward the man); but I post it so that those who encounter this common deception elsewhere might not be ignorant.

Tony (whose blog this is from) has seen many good and true things over the years, and has been bold to share them publicly even when they are truths not pleasant to the ear. It is because of that reputation that I would be remiss not to hold the line on this matter.

Take note that my first comment is not an objection, but is a biblical framing of what Tony saw. But it appears that what I said was precise enough to draw out something nefarious in his understanding, and the rest is self-explanatory.

[Originally from tpuccio(dot)wordpress(dot)com]

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“Brexit Must NOT Be Allowed To Fail”
By Tony

This is what I read today in the news concerning Brexit. “Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement was voted down 432-202, the largest defeat for a prime minister in thehistory of the House of Commons” As I was reading this I saw a vision of grappling hooks being shot over from Europe to England to pull the country back into the E.U. . Britain must be totally free from the E.U, or, I feel, that it will share in the judgement that is coming to Europe. Additionally I saw in this vision Theresa May standing at her podium looking out. As I saw her looking out I saw a very large snake slithering up and down the rows of the House of Commons. I feel in my spirit that this snake is fear and deception and I do believe that this has to do with the rise of the antichrist and an independent England would greatly hinder his plans. So I would say to the people of Great Britain, fast and pray. There is more at stake than you realize. Pray, Pray, Pray!!!! It is imperative that you pray!

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Comments:
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Me:
The church is God’s unity.
Babel is man’s unity.
Genesis 11
Deuteronomy 32:8-9
God divided the nations purposefully.
His only intended place for an integrated unity of the nations is within His kingdom – this is why all other such unions inevitably fail, and the last and greatest of them shall also be crushed at His coming.

Tony:
Not so in this case . The Word also says come out from among them and be separate. England is/was called by God to separate from the European Union

Me:
Of course they were, as were all nations instructed not to build Babel. That is precisely my point.
But here is the distinction I am making:Deut 32:8-9
All nations are called to seperate from one another (“When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when He divided mankind, He fixed the borders of the peoples…”), but it is the church’s calling to seperate from the nations, in the midst of the nations, unto God (“But the LORD’s portion is His people, Jacob His allotted heritage.”)

Tony:
Again, not the case here

Me:
Let scripture be the judge of that.

Tony:
Again God has spoken through many prophets concerning Brexit. Read what the Lord showed them

Me:
I may be no cessationist, but regarding all things in which God has not yet ceased, I yet remain a scripturalist. I have read and heard many such utterances; and where scripture (such as that which I have already provided) finds no warrant in them, I need not heed their every assertion.

Tony:
The Pharisees and Saducees were scriptualists. They missed Jesus and the giving of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost

Me:
They were also sacralists – a rather relevant subject to this conversation, I deem.

Tony:
They missed Jesus, The Word speaking to them did they not?

Me:
Of course. And as He pointed out multiple times, they were the ones in contradiction with scripture regarding Him – particularly because they thought that His kingdom ought to be of this present world.
And that is where I find your own words to be leading you.

Tony:
No my words are what God has shown me regarding Brexit. There are others whom the Lord has shown the same. The Word says to test all things and to hold fast to that which is true. It sounds like you have a problem believing in the prophetic.

Me:
Not in the least, Tony. I simply have a problem when the prophetic contradicts scripture, as did the prophets. For it was not the Pharisees who said, “To the Law and the testimony!”

Tony:
Then I would suggest that you follow what I wrote. Test all things hold fast to that which is good. If scripture is being contradicted, or rather your understanding of scripture, then what those in the prophetic are saying will not come to pass. On the other hand if there is alignment then it will come to pass

Me:
Coming to pass is not the test of true or false prophecy. That is the very power of the strong delusion.

Tony:
Deu 13:1 — Deu 13:4 (NKJV Strong’s)
Punishment of Apostates
“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him.

Me:“And the sign or wonder comes to pass…” – Exactly my point: things may come to pass which lead men to follow after the prophets and their own gods. And who are their gods? Those principalities which the god of this age has used to infatuate the prophets with earthly glories.
For the sake of earthly glories they even prophesy of the true prophets, saying, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

Tony:
No you miss the point entirely. If you’d been reading the many prophecies concerning Brexit from godly men and women who seek the Lord and would not dare to speak a false word you would not have come to that conclusion. Your understanding of the prophetic is deeply flawed.

Me:
My understanding of the prophetic is deeply flawed, because my standard is something higher than the mere sincerity of these men of whom you speak?
I rest my case.

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My final response was never approved, and the entire thread has been deleted.